Newspaper Articles

Wheeling News-Register
May 4, 1960

Political Debate to Feature Rally

The telecast of the face to face debate between presidential hopefuls John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey will be a highlight of the Democratic fund-raising rally tonight at the Colonnade Room of the Hotel McLure.

Principal speaker for the program scheduled to get underway at 7 p.m. will be Sen. Earnest Gruening of Alaska.

Committees in charge of the banquet said television sets would be available on which to view the live debate.

Immediately following the debate which will be televised over WTRF-TV in Wheeling and KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh from 8:30 until 9:30 p.m. (e.d.t.). Sen. Humphrey will fly to Wheeling for a whirlwind tour of the area.

He will arrive at the Wheeling-Ohio County airport about 1 a.m. Thursday and will go directory to the Fort Steuben Hotel in Steubenville for an overnight stay and then launch his day of campaigning over the valley from that site at 7:30 a.m.

The debate itself is billed as a ‘free-for-all’ debate of the issues and both Sen. Humphrey and Sen. Kennedy have agreed to answer any and all questions put to them by a neutral moderator.

The schedule calls for a five minute preliminary statement by each candidate the order in which they speak to be determined by a flip of the coin.

Then News Director Bill Ames of WCHS-TV Charleston, where the program originates, will ask each candidate in turn a question submitted through the mail by West Virginians.

If the question is directed to Kennedy, Humphrey has an opportunity for an immediate rebuttal limited to two minutes. The opposite will hold true if the question is directed to Sen. Humphrey.

Following has arrival in Wheeling tomorrow Sen. Humphrey has packed a hectic schedule into a short period of time including visits to Steubenville, Weirton, Bethany, Wheeling, Glen Dale, Moundsville and New Martinsville.

The highlight of his visit here will be a major address from the steps of the Wheeling Post Office that will give local residents some of the color of the old time political rally.

The speech will be made at 12:30 p.m. and he will be introduced by Wheeling Mayor John J. Gast.

The rally will have all the political trappings of a brass band, bright red, white and blue bunting and the street blocked off from traffic.

The Senator will open his tour with a breakfast at the Weirton Community Center at 8 a.m. where he will be presented with the key to the city by Mayor David T. Frew.

After a 50 minute stay in the community, the Minnesota senator travels to Wellsburg where he will be met at the corner of Eighth and Charles Sts. by Wellsburg Mayor Charles McDonald.

At 10:20 a.m. a speech is scheduled before the student body at Bethany College followed by a trip to Wheeling where his stay will be highlighted by a tour of the downtown streets and the speech from the post office steps.

After lunch he will visit Wheeling College where he will speak at a special convocation meet members of the student body and faculty at a reception.

A brief press conference will be held at the Humphrey Headquarters in the Windsor Hotel, Wheeling, whereafter latest reports on his tour indicate he may visit Glen Dale, Moundsville, and New Martinsville before boarding a plane that night for Morgantown.

Senator Humphrey’s trip here follows a visit last week by his wife, Muriel. While Mrs. Humphrey made no formal speeches she visited with area Democratic woman and was honored at various coffee hours and receptions.